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Desert torts like hot weather, Russians are from the Central Asian steppes so not as much. Plus all torts go in and out of their burrows to heat up and cool off as necessary, they can't just sit outside with no way of cooling down past ambient. Since you're in the LA area Raphael there could be an outdoor pet for all intents and purposes since it's such a mild climate. You just need to have some areas to make sure he/she can cool off in to regulate body temperature. Try taping some construction paper to the glass, any kind of opaque material will let them know that they can't just crawl through. When you measure a tort, you take the distance between the nuchals and pygals since their tails have different lengths due to sex and their necks vary on individual length. Here's a guide on how to do it. The loose skin is indeed a sign of dehydration, give her soakings(they absorb water up their butts) and offer plenty of juicy stuff like pieces of celery stalks(not too much though), a berry or two, fresh cabbage pieces, etc in addition to the normal diet until it's looking a little better. If they won't eat something you can always smear some ripe/overripe banana on it and it will disappear quickly. e: I forgot to say, if you want to leave Raphael outside 24/7 you need to construct or buy a secure cage to enclose its area. Unless you're on a high rise with no trees close by, the moment a raccoon figures out there's a nice juicy tortoise on your balcony it's going to figure out a way to eat that tortoise. What might work a little better is to just keep a large rubbermaid inside and close to the door with some bedding and a hide in it, then take Raph in when the sun is going down and let him/her bed down for the night inside. No muss, no tortoise poop inside the house, and you don't have to worry about your new buddy getting eaten in the night. Once Raphael gets used to you(and you do wind up being its owner for good), you'll see how much personality the little guys have. Torts are pugnacious and pretty charming once they get used to you enough to come out of their shells (  ) and you'll be getting bonked for headscratches and neck rubs soon.
Kilersquirrel fucked around with this message at 01:03 on Apr 10, 2014 |
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Apr 10, 2014 00:51
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We use Zilla Jungle Mix mixed with alfalfa or timothy hay for our substrate. I'd say over 95 is too hot for a Russian; the Ural Steppes where they're from is relatively chilly, with a lot of windflow, so if you're going for outside 24/7 I would create a big shaded area. Boxes and natural burrowing materials are a good idea. I'd use cardboard or choroplast sign material to block off her view of the sliding door. Generally when we measure torts we just go by the length of the shell. If Rapheal has a concave plastron (aka the underside of the shell has a dent in it running from top to bottom) then Rapheal is a boy. If the plastron is smooth and flat, then it's a lady tort. Measuring the distance between the cloaca on the tail also works too but is way more complicated. Russians are very easy to sex using the underside of the shell.
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Apr 10, 2014 02:03
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If it's a boy, you will have some excellent home video material coming your way soon.
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Apr 10, 2014 02:37
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Kilersquirrel posted:If it's a boy, you will have some excellent home video material coming your way soon. I suppose humping crocs is less embarrassing than actually wearing them. Bath time pics:     Based on the first picture I'm thinking Raphael is a girl. That's fine, her full name can just be Bar Rafael. I know it's not a great picture but are the lighter parts on the shell just scratches? I looked up the whole concave plastron thing, and once I saw a picture it became quite apparent what it's for. Clever. Raph hissed a lot during her bath. I don't think she likes me. 
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Apr 10, 2014 03:04
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The bottom ones look like scuff/slide marks maybe, but the top ones look like a dog or coyote had picked it up and chewed her a bit. Or she took a tumble down something hard and bumpy. The scutes will grow back though, it's just keratin(fingernail material) and the whole turtle family is incredibly tough and durable. They can survive horrific injuries and just keep on truckin' like nothing was wrong, so don't sweat a few scratched scutes. She'll get used to you, it just takes a bit. Bribery doesn't hurt either.
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Apr 10, 2014 03:22
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Cute Russian! We have a girl Russian we've had for about 20 years. Her name is Oval, and one of the wild caughts from way back when. She's also the largest I've ever seen, about the size of a dinner plate. I live in mid AZ, and it does get super loving hot, so we only see her a few times a year; we have an outdoor hut built for her and the leopard torts she lives with, and every spring and fall she is out daily. Summer, she is chilling in the hut, the leopards are out all year round. Have you checked craiglist for people asking about lost tortoises?
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Apr 10, 2014 11:28
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Cowslips Warren posted:Have you checked craiglist for people asking about lost tortoises? That ship sailed after I spent $50 on tortoise supplies. Besides, someone took down the signs I put up. It's almost as if someone doesn't want this tortoise to be found...  I have little sympathy for people who let their dogs escape, much less something as slow moving and non-jumping as a tortoise. Any ideas on fillers for the hut I'm going to build on Saturday? Dirt? Sand? Peat moss?
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Apr 11, 2014 03:22
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Try mixing fine-ground coconut coir and sterilized potting soil(no vermiculite/styrofoam in it, get the organic fertilizer-free stuff from a good nursery) together. The coco coir will retain moisture and the soil will give it something to dig down into. Some people like to mix a little playground sand into it as well, but there are conflicting opinions on how good of an idea that actually is and whether it can cause impactions or not. I honestly am not sure.
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Apr 11, 2014 04:38
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So I measured Raphael from blumpkin to nuchal (or whatever you guys called tortoise parts), and she scored 6.5". Not bad. Not bad. Tortoises just sort of sleep in their shell, right? They don't need like soft blankets or anything do they? Btw, I've never seen raccoons in my neighborhood, but there are stray cats. It wouldn't be easy, but I've seen cats climb straight up stucco so there is a chance they could get up on the balcony. Are they much danger to Raph? So I figured I'd do the right thing and check CL. I didn't find anything, but I did find someone who lost this tortoise:  Isn't that spiky shell pattern a sign of an extremely sick tortoise?
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Apr 11, 2014 05:35
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Ah, the wonders of pyramidding. I believe it comes from people feeding their herb tortoises poo poo like monkey chow/biscuits to get them to grow faster. Big tortoise but I bet he weighs next to nothing. Poor leopard.
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Apr 11, 2014 10:52
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Oh Jesus god yes is that some bad pyramiding. Yes, that poor thing is in trouble. Pyramiding is indeed from a diet too high in protein, but other factors like calcium availability and dehydration factor in as well. Here's an interesting read, its got a few studies quoted on the subject of shell pyramiding that seem to finger low-fiber diets, calcium unavailability, and dehydration moreso than high protein alone. There's a good chance that a lack of mechanical wear action on the scutes also contributes to pyramiding. They do grow new ones underneath to replace the old on a regular basis, and without the wear and tear they're adapted for occurring it might make it impossible to shed the old scutes properly. And no, stray cats aren't a danger, they can't pry open the shell like a raccoon can. Just because you haven't seen raccoons doesn't mean they're not there though, raccoons are superb at living in cities. You probably never see coyotes either, but LA is rotten with them(as is my own city, and just about every other city in the southern half of the country by now). They're just very smart about how and where to hide. Kilersquirrel fucked around with this message at 14:04 on Apr 11, 2014 |
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Apr 11, 2014 13:58
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Poor leopard indeed. I bet he lives 95% of his life in that aquarium with just paper towels down. People not taking care of their pets...  When I get home from work I'll send them an email saying I hope they never find him.
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Apr 11, 2014 14:33
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UnNethertrash posted:Poor leopard indeed. I bet he lives 95% of his life in that aquarium with just paper towels down. People not taking care of their pets... You're kind of spiteful dude. It's better to politely educate people who are doing bad husbandry than to go "heh, I hope you never find the pet you cared enough about to look for  ". It's entirely possible they came across bad information or they have no idea what they're doing. Most people don't gently caress up animals intentionally. They probably have no idea what's wrong or if anything is wrong at all. That doesn't make them blameless, it just makes them ignorant. You can get pissed if they pull the "it's just a tortoise, who cares" card.Hell, I came across someone with sulcatas yesterday and she thought just giving iceberg lettuce was okay because she'd been told that by her vet. I sent her some good links and she sent me an email back astounded by how much her sulcatas were going nuts over the cactus pads she got for them. And $50 is nothing when it comes to reptile supplies if you go to somewhere like petsmart/petco. They tend to be a bit more expensive than amazon.
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Apr 11, 2014 16:00
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Kilersquirrel posted:Just because you haven't seen raccoons doesn't mean they're not there though, raccoons are superb at living in cities. You probably never see coyotes either, but LA is rotten with them(as is my own city, and just about every other city in the southern half of the country by now). They're just very smart about how and where to hide. A friend of mine did a study using baited camera traps at different urban green spaces and then compared them to more rural areas, and they found just huge numbers of raccoons, coyotes, opossums, and I THINK also red foxes at the urban areas, compared to the rural sites. Lots of small and medium-sized mammals do incredibly well in or near cities.
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Apr 11, 2014 16:35
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So I have a few questions about Chinese Water Dragons. We have one at work right now, and we will be adopting him out because his tail got crushed under something and part of it fell off because of that. He is doing fine, we took him to our vet and he doesn't even require any medications, but I'm nervous about adopting him out. I feel like because he will be hardly any money to get, people will rush in to buy him without knowing what they are doing. I feel the need to be able to educate a person properly about them, but that's hard when I don't know MUCH about them. I'm mostly curious about what kind of set up they would require. I get the feeling that, since they are semi-arboreal a tank would be an awful home for them, but those open-air vivs seem like they would also be bad, since their claws get long and it seems liek they could shred it/ruin the wiring. Is the only viable option a custom-built cage? If so, what kind of seal could you use on the wood that isn't toxic to them, but to prevent the wood from rotting since they require lots of humidity? Are there any other substrate options outside of a terrarium liner that won't cause eye problems? What sort of UV lighting is best for them, since a lot of the time they tend to try and hide away from the UV? I think that might be it for now. I don't plan on getting him, as I doubt I have the room for one since I will be getting my rabbit a larger cage. This is strictly just me wanting to make sure nobody is going to get him just because he's for adoption, and if they are, making sure he goes to a proper home.
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Apr 11, 2014 19:20
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OneTwentySix posted:A friend of mine did a study using baited camera traps at different urban green spaces and then compared them to more rural areas, and they found just huge numbers of raccoons, coyotes, opossums, and I THINK also red foxes at the urban areas, compared to the rural sites. Lots of small and medium-sized mammals do incredibly well in or near cities. Hell, there are parts of northern LA that have a sizeable population of cougars by now. They tend to be younger ones, but still. A friend in Fullerton lived in a subdivision built around a hill with a reservoir on top that had an adult cougar. I was up later watching TV at her place trying to reset my jet lag on a visit and it came hopping down the walls checking every backyard for anything it could around 2 a.m. It didn't even bother looking in the sliding glass door at the strange glowy box either. Orlando has a black bear population around it(there's always a few that wander downtown and get tranq'ed and relocated each spring and summer), and Denver has a sizeable amount of suburban cougars as well. Red foxes are absolutely everywhere now, my dad has had them (and some well-fed coyotes, this is suburban Atlanta) walk through the backyard in the morning, stare him straight in the eye, and just amble on through. Bobcats are moving back into the suburbs and cities too, good-bye feral cat populations. E: Regarding the water dragon: Just use driftwood in the tank, it's not really going to rot anytime soon. I would emphasize to people that it is an animal that will be 3 feet long(I know that's a general max length but you always want to oversell the size a bit) and can split skin easily with its tail when it whips you, and can react/run lightning fast to boot. I'm assuming you work at a PetSmart, just set up housing for it in the quarantine room and chat up the people in the reptile aisle. You'll be able to get a much better sense of how into it they are without the carrot of "free* animal" in front of their faces, and if they seem legit enough you can casually mention you've got one that's adoptable in the back. As far as the housing goes there's a pretty wide variety of ways to set up a cage for them. I've seen screen cages with a circulating pool in them to provide humidity, traditional aquarium-style setups, etc. They need a good sized pool to soak in though, and an adult is going to need a 5-6 foot long cage and at least 3 feet deep and probably wide as well. Bigger is always better though. When I was managing at a PetSmart I actually had one guy who went whole-hog and converted an entire closet into a habitat for his lizard. Ripped out the walls and put up sealed greenboard, built a recirculating pond/waterfall for it, had some kind of pond-liner thing sealed against the floor to keep humidity from ruining the floorboards, etc. It was pretty impressive, the door had a glass or plexi insert placed in it so you could see in. But that's the extreme end of things. Open-air cages can just have a shower curtain affixed to their sides to help hold in humidity as well. The lizard is not particularly likely to try and run up the side, they'll stick to the branches unless there's no other option. I kept mine on repti-bark on top of a sphagnum moss or coco bark chip layer to hold moisture and keep up the ambient humidity. It worked pretty well at keeping the humidity level above 60% even during the dryest hottest summer we'd had here for several years(DFW area), you just pour some warm treated water in during the morning and the coco/moss would soak it up and release slowly throughout the day, with a couple mistings for drinking water and skin health around noon and evening. A large soaking pool is essential though, they love to lay around and inside the water. Kilersquirrel fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Apr 11, 2014 |
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Apr 11, 2014 19:38
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Yeah, there are cougars in the Bel Air hills so I'm sure they're everywhere. There are more bobcats for sure, but the last time I actually saw one was four years back, before my neighbors started putting out rat poison outdoors (what the hell?). The raccoons really are the worst and smartest - they were prying off the lids of my BBQ looking inside and twisting open outdoor shed doors and the like. And I don't know whether it's just that the first time I saw one super up close was when one jumped up on a table and stared in through a window at me, about a foot away from my face, but they seem a lot bigger in California too (guy was nearly 5 feet long without tail and had paws the size of my head). And he stared. right. at. me. Demanding food. I see water dragons for sale all the time - aren't they the wrong reptile to sell ANYONE? Nowhere does it say "grows to be larger than a medium dog" (at Petsmart) and they really should. They looked like interesting reptiles to own when I saw them years ago - until I read up on them. Do any of you have one or had one in the past? A full grown one? And I don't know. I'd rather have UnNethertrash be overprotective of turtle welfare than the opposite - ignoring people's advice, keeping animals in wrong conditions and way too cold a room, etc. Pyramiding sounds like it's a really complicated issue, and can be caused by overfeeding, even if all other conditions are ok, though, right?
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Apr 11, 2014 20:14
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Yeah, water dragons are basically the SE Asian version of iguanas pet-wise. Terrible pets for 99.99% of the population and you really have to be willing to rearrange your house and life somewhat for them, and they can gently caress you up good and proper in an eyeblink if you scare them. They just breed like rabbits so they're cheap to buy. I heavily discouraged everybody and anybody that I saw looking at the water dragons thinking about getting them. I had maybe one person actually persist enough to buy one and they already had a big cage set up left over from an iguana or something that had passed away of old age. If you actually want to turn part of your home into a big semi-aquatic vivarium they're pretty cool to have and easy to feed but otherwise they're not particularly suited for keeping at home. Pyramiding is a pretty complicated issue, I think as far as the food component goes it has more to do with the fiber and nutritional content of the food simultaneously, rather than sheer volume of it. But I could be dead wrong, I don't do dietary or physiological research and that info may be way out of date. I fattened up my russians pretty well at the store without them developing any pyramiding issues, but I also threw the corporate care guide out the window: I fed them the rehydrated grass pellets with a few small pieces of rehydrated fruit mix daily, rather than the lovely artificial-fruit-scented/flavored corn-based pellets we were officially supposed to use and kept their cage around 60-70% as a norm instead of letting it down to the 30-40% range that was listed as acceptable and misted them more than was listed as acceptable too.
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Apr 11, 2014 20:43
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Kilersquirrel posted:Just use driftwood in the tank, it's not really going to rot anytime soon. It's not so much what's in the tank that I am worried about. My major concern is, if someone were to make a custom tank itself out of wood, how would you seal it so the sides of the cage won't rot? Outside of this, I really appreciate all of the info. I would actually like to one day invest and make space for one, but until then I would just like to get this guy into a really good/suitable home.
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Apr 12, 2014 01:19
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Quick question - we're headed on a week long vacation soon and are trying to figure out the best way to have our beardie taken care of while we're gone. So more of a 2 part question - first, would it be a huge deal if he was lightless for a week? There's heat tape around the tank, so it wouldn't get too cold at least, but obviously I don't want to hurt him in any way. My in laws can come by a few times during the week to feed and refresh his water at least, but asking them to drive in to turn his lights on and off every day isn't realistic. If lightless for the week is a horrible idea does anyone have recommendations for a temporary enclosure setup? He's in a 40 long with slate tile right now and if we have to lug the whole setup to my inlaws for the week we will, but if he'd be fine in some easier to travel setup we'd do that. With him at the parents house he'll be in a out of the way room and they'll take care of the lights and stuff, but he's not going to be the center of attention like he is now.
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Apr 12, 2014 04:15
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MrConfusedTurkey posted:It's not so much what's in the tank that I am worried about. My major concern is, if someone were to make a custom tank itself out of wood, how would you seal it so the sides of the cage won't rot? Just look up plywood fish tanks to see how it's done. Its not particularly hard, you just have to throw down for the right materials and not cut corners when sealing the tank up. E: /\/\ Why don't you just buy a light timer or two, they're $10 at a hardware store and typically the same at Petsmart too. That way he can have the exact same schedule without anybody needing to drive over twice a day. Kilersquirrel fucked around with this message at 04:47 on Apr 12, 2014 |
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Apr 12, 2014 04:45
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I am legitimately confused by anyone who owns reptiles and doesn't have their lights on timers. Get a timer, unless you hate convenience and the awesome laziness it provides.
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Apr 12, 2014 05:48
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Captain Foxy posted:I am legitimately confused by anyone who owns reptiles and doesn't have their lights on timers. Get a timer, unless you hate convenience and the awesome laziness it provides. Kilersquirrel posted:E: /\/\ Why don't you just buy a light timer or two, they're $10 at a hardware store and typically the same at Petsmart too. That way he can have the exact same schedule without anybody needing to drive over twice a day. Holy poo poo how did I not think of this????? Thank you!! Mistegirl fucked around with this message at 14:09 on Apr 12, 2014 |
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Apr 12, 2014 14:04
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They're $3-5 at Home Depot and the like if you want one just one that works for 1 plug ($30-40 at pet shops for a larger one or you can just get multiples of the first). And don't worry, it took me a good six months to be like "OH. a timer..." - before that I would try and be home around 7-8pm every day otherwise and really got on a wake up at dawn schedule. 
Noricae fucked around with this message at 17:17 on Apr 12, 2014 |
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Apr 12, 2014 17:15
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Noricae posted:They're $3-5 at Home Depot and the like if you want one just one that works for 1 plug ($30-40 at pet shops for a larger one or you can just get multiples of the first). Found one with 2 outlets at WalMart for $10 - talk about feeling silly for not thinking of that to begin with. I'm glad I'm not the only one that forgot they exist.
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Apr 12, 2014 21:52
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Came to post this iherp link: http://iherp.com/Answers/ReptileProblem.aspx?Id=42708 This couple's children's python laid some eggs without being bred, and one of them looks viable. Apparently this is the first time parthenogenesis has been recorded in that particular species, so I've been tracking the progress to see how it turns out. e: VVV Also the New Mexico Whiptail! I don't know if people keep them but I agree that parthenogenesis is cool to read about, and the New Mexico Whiptail is actually a hybrid lizard, which is also neat. (I also had parthenogenesis terribly spelled so I went back and corrected that...) Clavietika fucked around with this message at 15:32 on Apr 14, 2014 |
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Apr 13, 2014 14:43
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Clavietika posted:Came to post this iherp link: http://iherp.com/Answers/ReptileProblem.aspx?Id=42708 Parthenogenesis is always interesting. I remember reading an account of a wild-caught scaleless Nerodia that gave birth to a (mostly stillborn) litter of babies without breeding. I also personally know two people who've had parthenogenic Rhacs, leachies and chahouas (not Rhacs anymore, but whatev, yo). It's very rare, but it seems that many species are capable of parthenogenesis under certain unknown circumstances. There are, however, several known fully parthengenic species such as mourning geckos and Brahminy blind snakes.
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Apr 14, 2014 06:49
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Big Centipede posted:Parthenogenesis is always interesting. I remember reading an account of a wild-caught scaleless Nerodia that gave birth to a (mostly stillborn) litter of babies without breeding. I also personally know two people who've had parthenogenic Rhacs, leachies and chahouas (not Rhacs anymore, but whatev, yo). I'm done waiting for my lone female Leachie that has no mate to suddenly lay fertile eggs instead of duds! :shake: Joking, I wasn't really expecting it, but I've candled all her eggs just in case... Mourning geckos are awesome, I adore mine. I just wish they wouldn't eat their offspring. I'd have at least a dozen by now if they didn't.
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Apr 14, 2014 17:21
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This afternoon while driving home from class this guy was trying to cross the very very very busy road. My husband thought I had lost my mind when I jumped out of the car and nearly ran into traffic to grab him/her so he didn't get smashed.  I don't think I've ever encountered a snapping turtle quite this big. I put him down by the creek that runs behind our house (pictured). Hopefully he'll be happier away from semi trucks. 
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Apr 15, 2014 23:10
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Very nice of you to help her out. She should be fine, but for future reference, if you see a turtle crossing the road, the recommendation is to just help it to the other side. They've usually got an idea of where they're heading and a reason. Awesome pictures, and pretty jealous of your creek.
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Apr 16, 2014 01:56
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I'm so kicking myself right now. We went to the New England reptile show over the weekend and the only thing that caught my eye was a guy that had some Mourning Geckos. I thought about it and wanted them, but then figured I'd have to get a live tank up and going, so it would probably be better to get that in order before adding the geckos. Now I'm remembering that these suckers are almost impossible to find and I probably won't be able to get a pair until the next show in October, and that's if I'm lucky. Ugh.
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Apr 22, 2014 23:45
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They're parthnogenic, so they're not exactly rare. I don't know if they're just particularly hard to find in your area or what, but they're constantly available and cheap as balls. You also don't need a live setup for them unless you really want to do that for some reason; you could literally stick them in a rubbermaid tub and not look at them for weeks and they'd be fine. Some of the easiest geckos around. Just check fauna and grab a few when you see them and you'll be overflowing with the drat things in no time. Here's a little C. oreganus guy we found out on our herp hunt this year. One of our two native rattlers.   I'm now working with the snouted cobra, black mamba, eastern diamondback and gaboon viper at the museum. Feeding the mamba was....an experience.
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Apr 22, 2014 23:51
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I just got a 'breeding age' citrus morph bearded dragon in a trade a couple weeks ago. I noticed she was constantly rooting in her cage, so I threw a box of play sand in there. She just layed 23 god drat eggs in it! I contacted the previous owner and she said she doesn't think the young dragon ever mated with one of her boys, but she can't be totally sure. Is it normal for a bearded to lay 23 duds? What the heck should I do? (edit) just because she's breeding age doesn't mean I ever intended to breed her, I just wanted a pet.
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Apr 23, 2014 02:26
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http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/bearded-dragon-lizards-infect-132-salmonella-n89146 Sounds like beardies are getting some negative publicity. I keep a bottle of germ ex next to the tank, and most owners should know to clean their hands after handling.
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Apr 25, 2014 17:24
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Noricae posted:They're $3-5 at Home Depot and the like if you want one just one that works for 1 plug ($30-40 at pet shops for a larger one or you can just get multiples of the first). You can get a pack of two for like $10 at Ikea. We have the lizards and the fish on timer so we can sleep until whenever we want
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Apr 25, 2014 20:37
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Captain Foxy posted:They're parthnogenic, so they're not exactly rare. I don't know if they're just particularly hard to find in your area or what, but they're constantly available and cheap as balls. You also don't need a live setup for them unless you really want to do that for some reason; you could literally stick them in a rubbermaid tub and not look at them for weeks and they'd be fine. Some of the easiest geckos around. Just check fauna and grab a few when you see them and you'll be overflowing with the drat things in no time. Gorgeous little guy, about the same size as they get here in Alberta, and a much more manageable size than the ones I see in the field in Texas. quote:I'm now working with the snouted cobra, black mamba, eastern diamondback and gaboon viper at the museum. Feeding the mamba was....an experience. Yeah, no. My dad grew up in central Africa and his stories are about as close as I wish to get to a mamba.
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Apr 25, 2014 20:42
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That's a Northern Pacific rattler, and not fully grown at that. They get probably 2-3ft. Luckily for me the animals I work with have had professional adenectomy surgeries done and are voided. Our western green mamba, however, is not, as is most of the collection.
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Apr 26, 2014 04:49
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Captain Foxy posted:That's a Northern Pacific rattler, and not fully grown at that. They get probably 2-3ft. I'm a new lurker to the thread.  Could you tell me more about where you work?
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Apr 26, 2014 15:16
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Transmogrifier posted:I'm a new lurker to the thread. I work at House of Reptiles. It's the largest reptile specialty store in the Pacific Northwest. We sell beardies/leos/corns/balls, sure, but that's not our focus. We like to carry a wide range of uncommon or not-as-well-known species, and so a lot of reptile people come in expecting walls of kid's pets and are astounded that we carry things like King's Rock monitors, purple bloom tarantulas, central American banded geckos, black headed pythons, the non-common boa species, etc. Hobbyists will buy animals and products from us, which I feel is saying something, since I'm a hobbyist myself and we like to do everything as nitpicky as possible. We don't sell burms/retics/big monitors, and we keep a few on display with little info plaques on why we don't think they make good pets, the real info on the Everglades burm population, and how big they can really get, because many people believe a burm will top out at only 10-14ft. Our massive female burm in the front makes a big impression; she's literally as wide around as a truck tire and had been abandoned in an apartment in 2009. We use a lot of those animals in our educational presentations, which I'm gearing up to take over, where we go to classrooms, libraries, birthday, events and talk to kids about our protecting our native species, not taking animals from the wild, why snakes aren't scary, what makes reptiles cool, etc. We'll also do store tours and company events, so on any given Saturday/Sunday the place is usually packed. My boss has a PhD in herpetology, and has worked in the reptile hobby for close to forty years now. He's on the board of the Fish and Wildlife department, the Multnomah County Animal Services board, BAMZA (Biological Appropriation/Management of Zoo Animals), and works closely with the Oregon Zoo to care for their reptiles because they don't have a specific reptile house with a designated department head. In that capacity, he's often been unfortunate enough to be the first called when the police find a house filled with cobras and alligators. Which is how we ended up with the Venomous Reptile Museum. We keep about 28 venomous species, all mostly from private owners who relinquished them, police seizures and animal cruelty cases, although we did purchase a few animals here and there as the experience level of the staff grew higher. Some came to us 'voided', where they'd had an adenectomy surgery done, but we 'milk' everyone every year just to be sure, because all it takes is a tiny bit of tissue missed by the surgeon to allow for a venom gland to regrow. Only 8 of our animals are 'voided', the rest are 'hot', so the training starts with the voided animals, and gradually I will work up to the hots as my level of comfort/skill increases, but everyone takes the voids just as seriously, and we don't have any more contact with them than we would with a hot animal. Frankly, some of the voided animals are harder to work with than some of our very placid rattlers and arboreal vipers, but it's good practice. I'm thinking of our evil motherfucker of a Spectacle cobra in particular; he is neurotic as hell and strikes the glass with surprising regularity. I work mostly with the snouted cobra (his name is Beaker and he thinks he's a big corn snake) but also with the copperhead, gaboon viper, eastern diamondback and black mamba. The black mamba is named Ladysmith and she's blind and very old, so she's actually rather mild, just very darty and quick so is also vaguely terrifying because you know she can't see very well and she's got her mouth open the whole time. We also have a 14ft King Cobra that is the boss's pride and joy, and that snake is intelligent as hell and clearly 'chooses' people that he will allow to work with him. I'll take some pics on Sunday when its slow. The venomous area is normally not allowed for photos, but I do have some shots I can share.
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Apr 26, 2014 16:30
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| # ? Jun 3, 2024 12:52 |
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Thank you for sharing! That sounds pretty drat amazing from an outside perspective. I looked up a purple bloom tarantula because of your post, and wow, really gorgeous spiders.
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Apr 26, 2014 16:42
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